Field of the Invention
The invention concerns a ventilation device. In particular, the invention concerns a ventilation device for ventilating a circuit board, preferably in a computer.
Background of the Related Art
Various arrangements for ventilating a circuit board or the components of a circuit board are known. Examples of such arrangements according to the prior art are shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B. FIG. 8A shows a circuit board 100 with a component 101. The component 101 in this example is a central processing unit (CPU). It is known to cool the component 101 using an installed fan 102 that pulls a stream of air 103 from above and blows it directly downward onto the component 101. After flowing over the component 101, the stream of air 103 is deflected by the circuit board 100 and passes over the circuit board 100. FIG. 8B shows another circuit board 100 with components 101 on both sides of it. A fan 102 is placed to the side of the circuit board and directs a stream of air 103 onto one side edge of the circuit board 100, where the stream of air is split and flows along the top and bottom sides of the circuit board 100 to cool the components 101.
The available space inside a computer housing can be limited. It is common, in particular, to have multiple cards inserted into connector strips (“slots”), sometimes with predetermined small distances between them. However, ventilation devices of the type described have a comparatively large height in relation to the thickness of the installed circuit board or are added above the components installed on the circuit board, which often makes the use of these types of ventilation problematic. For example, in the applicant's series X3/X5 OSBiz wall systems, especially when using a UC booster card, due to the greater component thickness and installation on both sides and in connection with a temperature-sensitive hard drive, forced ventilation in the housing is desirable, because the natural convection inside the housing is stretched to its limits. Changing the housing, the motherboard, or the installation positions is difficult to do. Especially critical here is the hard drive, which may have a temperature limit that should not be exceeded, such as 55° C., that varies depending on the manufacturer.